Ireland Sets Crypto Firms New AML Duties Through 2030

Ireland published its first National Anti-Money Laundering Strategy on August 14. The strategy, which runs through 2030, includes enhanced checks on transfers involving private cryptocurrency wallets and stricter due diligence for crypto-asset service providers dealing with overseas crypto firms.

What the Strategy Changes

The strategy document incorporates pending elements of the European Union Funds Transfer Regulation. Ireland’s Department of Finance said those elements introduce new obligations for crypto-asset service providers, including enhanced controls for transfers involving private wallets and greater due diligence when operating with crypto firms based outside the bloc.

The central mechanism is the FATF travel rule, which requires transaction information on the originator and beneficiary to accompany a transfer. The rule was formulated in parallel with MiCA, which established crypto-asset service providers as a regulated category across the European Union. MiCA entered fully into force on July 1, while Brussels is preparing a 2027 review of the framework that seeks to incorporate non-European stablecoin issuers.

Ireland gave crypto firms a 12-month adaptation period, shorter than the maximum 18 months allowed under the regulation, according to the ESMA register. The deadline expired at the end of December 2025, meaning the new obligations apply to companies that already hold full authorization.

Strategy Builds on Earlier Financial-Crime Plan

Finance Minister Simon Harris said criminal organizations exploit new technologies, crypto assets and complex international financial networks to conceal profits. He said the strategy demonstrates that Ireland will not be a place to launder criminal proceeds.

The strategy builds on a 30-point action plan the Irish government presented in June alongside its National Risk Assessment. That plan identified the misuse of crypto assets among Ireland’s emerging financial threats.

One domestic measure in the plan tasks the Gambling Regulatory Authority of Ireland with developing a sectoral standard for accepting crypto assets as a source of funds. The standard is intended to include due diligence to verify legitimacy and is scheduled for the second quarter of 2027.

Anonymous Accounts and Self-Hosted Wallets

At the EU level, the Anti-Money Laundering Regulation prohibits crypto service providers from offering or maintaining anonymous accounts, as well as accounts that allow transactions to be anonymized. The prohibition includes privacy coins.

The prohibition does not extend to self-hosted wallets whose providers have no access to or control over them. The rules take effect in July 2027 and will be overseen by the Anti-Money Laundering Authority headquartered in Frankfurt.

Ireland’s Place in the EU Framework

Ireland’s strategy incorporates obligations connected to the EU Funds Transfer Regulation while setting out a shorter adaptation period for crypto firms than the maximum permitted under the regulation. The strategy also places the country’s domestic measures alongside the wider EU framework, including the travel rule, MiCA and the forthcoming anonymous-account restrictions.

For crypto-asset service providers, the immediate focus is the strategy’s requirement for enhanced controls on transfers involving private wallets and greater due diligence in dealings with overseas crypto firms. The rules on anonymous accounts and accounts that allow transactions to be anonymized are scheduled to apply from July 2027, while self-hosted wallets remain outside that prohibition where providers do not have access to or control over them.